Reang

Reang^[1][2] is one of the Tripuri clan of the Northeast Indian state. The Reangs can be found all over the Tripura state in India. However, they may also be found in Assam and Mizoram. They speak the Kokborok language.

The Reangs are a semi-nomadic people who farm hillsides by the jhum (slash and burn) or shifting method. This forces them to relocate after a few years.  The Bru/Reang are a Tripuri clan from the Indian state of Tripura. They speak a dialect of Kokborok language, which is Tibeto-Burmese in origin and known locally as Kau Bru. They are known as "Riang" in the Indian Constitution. The Reang, on the other hand, identify as "Reang" rather than "Riang," and are often referred to as Bru.   The Bru or Reang Community is made up of 12 clans or panjis: Molsoi, Tuimui, Msha, Taumayakcho, Apeto, Wairem, Meska, Raikchak, Chorkhi, Chongpreng, Nouhkham, and Yakstam. ^[3]

According to Part XVII of the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950, the Riang (Bru) tribe is a sub-tribe of the Kuki tribe and one of Mizoram's Scheduled Tribes. The Kukis and Mizos are members of the Kuki-Chin Linguistic Group, while the Brus belong to the Bodo Linguistic Group. As a result, the Tripura Bru/Reang are designated as a distinct tribe under Section 16 of Part XV - Tripura of the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order 1950.^[4]

In 2018, following the Union Home Ministry's decision to give voting rights to around 30,000 people who had fled from Mizoram to Tripura in 1997 in the wake of inter-community violence, The Election Commission asked the State of Mizoram to revise its rolls for the 2018 polls and include the members of the internally-displaced community. As many as 32,876 people of the Bru tribe were set to be repatriated to Mizoram after a tripartite agreement was signed between the Centre, Tripura and Mizoram government.^[5] On 16 January 2020, a quadripartite agreement was signed among the Centre, state governments of Tripura and Mizoram and Bru representatives to facilitate permanent settlement of Bru IDPs( Internally displaced people's) from Mizoram in Tripura, benefitting around 34,000 IDPs.^[6]